It's been nearly two decades since original New Romantics, Duran Duran, last toured in their original line-up.

But in 2004, Simon Le Bon, Andy Taylor, Roger Taylor, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor are about as popular as they ever were.

Their British tour was originally going to end in Newcastle this Thursday, but due to demand more dates have now been added around the country.

But the lads will, no doubt, be making the most of their return to Newcastle. Andy, of course, is a Geordie, but all the band have fond memories of the city.

"The last time we were there, the Arena hadn't even been built. We played the City Hall, which is a great venue," says Nick Rhodes.

"But I'm really looking forward to seeing the Arena and how the city's changed over the years.

"I know there's a bit of an 80s revival at the minute and you get these Here and Now tours. That's not a road we would ever go down, but good luck to the people that do it.

"The British audiences have always been great for us, we've always had tremendous support from home. They're not quite as shrill as in the early days, but I have to say they've been unbelievable. Everyone is so into making the whole evening special.

"We've been performing some new stuff, but there's the classics in there as well. People love to hear music that they are familiar with and songs that mean something to them."

Eighteen years is a long time, so why did the group, who were the toast of this year's Brits, decide the time was now ripe for return?

"We all felt there was unfinished business. We didn't really have a huge falling out. There were too many other people getting involved," explains Nick.

"The first thing we did when we reformed was go into the studio together. We spent the best part of a year and a half writing and recording new material. We've got enough material for two albums now.

"It got to the stage, 18 months down the line, where we were just bursting to do some shows. We'd been shut up in that little room too long. And it's just been incredible ever since.

"We were very confident about coming back, I think. We knew we were good, but we weren't sure what the reaction was going to be like."

Of course, there are more lines on the faces these days, but that's not the case with all their fans, Duran Duran have won over a new generation of Duranies, as well as their loyal followers of two decades.

"The MTV award was a huge shock, we really had no idea. We thought we were there to present an award, not receive one. But it was fantastic. We were there among a whole new generation of MTV kids, which was a little strange," continues Nick.

"We've changed a lot over the years, obviously there's a lot more children around now. But we've got more respect musically for each other than ever before. We've always worked as a unit."

* Duran Duran are at the Arena, Newcastle, on Thursday. More details on 0870 707 8000 or by logging on to www.metroradioarena.co.uk